Please read this review. Do not discard it simply because you are unfamiliar with the book or with the message it might have. If you're reading this sPlease read this review. Do not discard it simply because you are unfamiliar with the book or with the message it might have. If you're reading this sentence, then please read this review. A life literally depends on it. Thank you.-------

The words "life changing" are pretty much cliched now, their meaning no longer to be taken at face value. Perhaps that's endemic of our American tendencies to abuse hyperbole. But when I think back on Richard Stearns' oh-so-relevant book The Hole in Our Gospel, those two overused words immediately rise to the top.

"If Jesus was willing to die for this troubled planet, maybe I need to care about it too." (Pg. 2)

Richard Stearns is the president of World Vision, a Christian humanitarian organization with the goals of "working with the poor and oppressed to promote human transformation, seek justice and bear witness to the good news of the Kingdom of God." I've had a relationship with World Vision for five years now through the child sponsorship program. (I liked how 86% of donations went directly to the mission.) Stearns has served at this post for fourteen years now. Prior to that he lived a life of luxury, working as the CEO for luxury kitchen company Lenox, making six-figures and achieving the "American Dream," overcoming his relatively poor childhood and finding success through hard work and perseverance.

The Hole in Our Gospel is part autobiographical, part field guide to get involved and help change the world. Stearns writes candidly of his struggle to uproot and take on the new position at World Vision. He admitted several times that he had no interest in doing anything like that, that he was comfortable with his life and was satisfied. But what really shines is Stearns' passion to motivate others--people like you and me--to get involved in the world, to plug in and help those who are so desperately in need of help. His appeal is from a Christ-like attitude, but I suspect that even non-believers support Stearns opinions.

"If we are to be part of this coming kingdom, God expects our lives--our churches and faith communities too--to be characterized by these authentic signs of our own transformations: compassion, mercy, justice, and love--demonstrated tangibly." (Pg. 57)

There is so much that I could talk about from this book that I don't know where to begin. On one hand I fear that I would cheapen the experience of reading the book, as Stearns takes twenty-six chapters to expound the various issues raised. My single weblog post would be nothing. On the other hand I so want to share this book with you. I made so many highlights and underlines that my book looks rather abused, and picking out what to share was not the easiest task. Additionally, removing a quote from its context loses some meaning.

The Hole in Our Gospel was published in 2009. As such, the statistics are slightly out of date, but still very close to true, I'd wager. I'm thankful Stearns includes a comprehensive index for footnotes, giving sources to the statistics he shares. Many times I would flip to the back to see where the data came from. Unfortunately, most of the statistics shared are punches to the gut. Just think, 3.6 billion people, 55% of the world's population, live on less than $2 per day. Americans, approximately 4.5% of the world's people, live on $105 per day. I'm blinded to how much I actually have, how much I actually waste. It's sickening.

"More than 26,500 children died yesterday of preventable causes related to their poverty, and it will happen again today and tomorrow and the day after that." (Pg. 107)

"It is estimated that a child dies every five seconds from hunger-related causes." (Pg. 135)

I don't know about you, but reading stuff like that is truly devastating. Stearns presents a lot of this information in a chapter titled "One Hundred Crashing Jetliners." In short, if one hundred jetliners crashed today, killing 26,500 people, imagine the chaos that would ensue. People would be in pure pandemonium, afraid to fly and fervent in fixing the problem. Stearns then asks the question why 26,500 kids can (and do) die every day and receive little to no media coverage, no public outrage, no government interference. His conclusion,

"If we are honest with ourselves, we must admit that we simply have less empathy for people of other cultures living in faraway countries than we do for Americans." (Pg. 107)

That hurts. Badly. A few pages later, at the end of the chapter, I wrote in my margin "is my sadness enough to drive me to do something about this?" I'm wrestling with that thought right now. How can I live with myself knowing how much I'm doing to combat this kind of thing?

"Here is the bottom line: if we are aware of the suffering of our distant neighbors--and we are--if we have access to these neighbors, either personally or through aid organizations and charities--and we do--and if we have the ability to make a difference through programs and technologies that work--which is also the case--then we should no more turn our backs on these neighbors of ours than the priest and the Levite should have walked by the bleeding man." (Pg. 104)

The beauty and uplifting news of The Hole in Our Gospel is that there is hope, that the problems of the world are not insurmountable. It's easy to see the massive problem that exists, and thinking of it as one large mountain makes the task impossible. Stearns argument, though, is that the world changes through each individual. We're not called to change the world, but to love our neighbors. Jesus invested in people to institute His church and the Kingdom; we, his followers, should do likewise. With this mindset, changing a person in order to change the world, things become more manageable.

"Christ is an all-or-nothing proposition, and one way or another, every one of us has already made a choice about Him. We have either committed our lives to Him whole-heartedly, or we have not." (Pg. 83)

"This has always been a problem with God's people; we tend to drift away from God's bold vision, replacing it with a safer, tamer version of our own." (Pg. 183)

Richard Stearns book is powerful. The Hole in Our Gospel sheds light on global issues of suffering that I was not even aware existed. I lived obliviously, unenlightened, but no longer. Now there is something burning within me that's longing to do something, longing to take a stand against the status quo and the American Dream, to rise from my stupor and my good life and actually make a difference. I began mapping out my next step, thinking of ways to spread awareness and also do a little good. (You can see the current plan here if you're interested.) I won't change the world, no, but to the ones I do help, I will change their's. And you can too.

"If you think you are too small to make a difference, try spending the night in a closed room with a mosquito." -African proverb (Pg. 250)

The Resolution for Men is not the kind of book that I would normally read. In fact, I think I've only read one book like it before, John Eldredge's WiThe Resolution for Men is not the kind of book that I would normally read. In fact, I think I've only read one book like it before, John Eldredge's Wild at Heart, and that as a single lad in college. Now, with nearly five years of marriage under my belt, and almost a year of being a father, books like Resolution seem more appropriate. Resolution, written by brothers Stephen & Alex Kendrick, is an accompanying resource book for last year's Courageous, a quasi-companion to Fireproof.

Point blank, I've seen neither of these movies, though from what I hear, they're "wonderful." Personally, I just don't see the appeal. I get that Christian movies are clean and wholesome and powerful and filled with a message, but generally the acting and budgets are not comparable to a Hollywood powerhouse. Now I'm not knocking these movies, and I'm glad that they exist. No, what I have problems with is the fact that the movie is labeled as a "Christian" movie, relegating it into a genre that's typically laughed at and ignored. Anyone who's read this blog very long knows that I dislike labels and genres, whether it's for film or books or music or whatever. If you want to reach a larger audience then remove the genre classification. Until then, we'll remain a splintered people, separated by race, religion, and many other things.

With that said, Resolutionis a non-fictional book about what it means to be a Man. To be a good husband. To be a good dad. Or, from the Introduction,

This book is an unapologetic call for men to live courageously for their faith and their families. It is designed to strategically challenge you to become the man God created you to be. (page1)

Continuing my confession, I would very likely never have read Resolutionon my own. It's just not my norm. As it so happened, my Wednesday morning D-group (which we affectionately call "Coffee Talk") decided to read this book together. What's more, we decided that after we finished that we would pledge the "Resolution" the book provides, affirming our intentions publicly and in the presence of others. This "Resolution" is the focus of the book, as it precedes and concludes the text. Each of the fifteen chapters point to the twelve points made in the "Resolution", and all build upon one another as expected.

To make things even more difficult, I literally started reading the book a day or two before my dad died. Because of the book's content, my mind had been thinking about him a lot at the time. Thinking about how he was never there for us and how little he was involved in my life. The book speaks of being a chain-breaker in your family, and I had a clear goal in mind for my life of how not to be. Reading the book was cementing the way to that goal. Then he died, and all the difficult parts about fatherhood were suddenly clearer and made more of an impact.

I came into Resolutionwith no real expectations, what I found was a book containing a lot of great information about being a Man of God. I like to read with ink pens and highlighters at my disposal, and this book shows it. Many of the pages are scribbled with notes or underlines, things I found particularly insightful or applicable. Consider (and I apologize for the quote-dump here),

*All sin in us reveals that God is not as holy to us as He should be. (p89)*[And] the more maturity a man has, the more responsibility God can trust him with. (p62)*If you want to get to the core of who people really are, get them to start talking about their dad. (p14)*God's Word commands husbands and fathers to lovingly lead their homes. As men, we are to walk in honor and integrity and fully embrace our responsibilities as shepherds over our families. We are called to model a loving, Christlike example for our wives and children... Therefore--because this is God's calling--it's no mystery that a godless culture would mock and constantly undermine fatherhood, attacking and inverting what God designs and values. (p13)*Strong relationships and marriages don't happen because people never hurt each other. They happen because the people involved keep on forgiving. (p172)*Being a Christian once meant faithfully and boldly representing Christ, even when it came at great risk, even when it meant being unpopular. But too many men today have redefined being Christlike to mean "nice and quiet." (p137)

This is just a smattering of things I marked. For you see, Resolutionoffered much more than I was expecting. Not only did the authors give theory behind things they recommended, but they went beyond that by offering practical things to do. I appreciate reading a book with suggestions for how to apply to my life. Too often, it seems, that these books only offer us reasons why we need to do things a certain way but not how to go about it.

I've already mentioned the "Resolution" at the front and back of the book, but it's worth mentioning again. I think the desire of the authors is to get men to recommit themselves to seeking a lifestyle that's reflective of biblical manhood. The Resolution is a solemn compact that should not be entered into half-hearted. I imagine that there are some who have qualms about making that type of commitment and instead just gloss over that part of the book, but as for me, it's something I'm going to do. The "Resolution" is composed of great points that not only will make us better men, but will draw us closer to God.

Stephen & Alex Kendrick's Resolution for Men is not a perfect book. There are plenty of instances that I completely disagreed with, where I felt that they were being too legalistic or too dogmatic, but these were uncommon. At times I also felt like they were repetitive in their message, but this could be that they just wanted to make sure that their message was heard. Even so, these brothers are to be applauded for the book they've produced. It's poignant and much needed in modern day America. If you're wondering what it takes to be a better husband, a better father, and a better Man in general, then let me suggest checking out The Resolution for Men.

[Note: Just in case you're curious, there's also a Resolution for Women out there. I can't attest to its content, but if it's like this one, then I do recommend it, too.]...more

Every once in a while we have an epiphany. It may come while we're brushing our teeth and staring at ourselves in the mirror. It may come when we're pEvery once in a while we have an epiphany. It may come while we're brushing our teeth and staring at ourselves in the mirror. It may come when we're pouring soy into the wok, whiffing the wonderful scents of the steam. Or, as often is the case, it may come from a book. The Bible is great at this. It's amazing how we can read the same passages through the years, but still find so much truth with its words. This post isn't about the Bible, though. It's about Kevin DeYoung's book (which is based on the Bible) Just Do Something.

Just Do Something has literally changed the way I think about a lot of stuff. Many Christians tend to "overspiritualize" things, some going so far as to avoid doing anything for fear of making a wrong choice. (Note: this problem isn't just related to Christians, but to anyone suffering from indecision, at least I suspect so.) We're inclined to believe that every choice we make in life ultimately affects some outcome at the end, and this simply is not true.

In Just Do Something, DeYoung presents a case for simply doing, not worrying about the results. He argues that as long as a decision isn't sinful (what he calls "unethical" choices), then the choice is solely up to us and God doesn't care. Does it really matter what job we take and what school we attend? What car we buy? Who we marry, even? To God, these decisions are simply less important than "ethical" ones (i.e., God is supremely concerned with our choice on how we view His Son, Jesus). While this may seem infuriating or insensitive, DeYoung uses plenty of scripture to back up his beliefs, and I'm inclined to agree (with most)*.

Early in the book DeYoung presents the problem many of us face. We want to be in the will of God and make Him happy with every thing we do. Agreed. And how often do we pray or hear others pray "if it's according to Your will...?" DeYoung states that there are three distinct categories for the will of God, and understanding these three is the first step to a new way of thinking.

1. The decreed will of God. God has already decreed everything from before time began, down to the hairs on our heads falling out and the sparrow's food for today. This is all sovereign and unchangeable. 2. The desired will of God. This is what God wants to happen and what He desires. It begs the question why isn't the desired will the decreed will.**3. The directive will of God. This is often what people pray for, wanting clear direction from God, sometimes verbally, sometimes with a sign, etc.

So, without getting too deep, everything we ever do is already in God's will. Everything that ever happens is already in God's will. He's already taken into consideration everything and allowed it all to happen "for the good" (Romans 8:28). This is God's decreed will, and we can never be out of it.

What we should pray for is to be in God's desired will. I suspect (as does DeYoung) that as long as we make decisions based on biblical wisdom, then we'll always be in God's desired will, as it is the Spirit that speaks to us through God's Word. One chapter even presents practical things to pray for, and I found this quite helpful. How often we tend to overlook the obvious.

What many of us actually pray for is for God's will of direction to be obvious, like Gideon's fleeces or the clouds above spelling out a phrase. This is just setting ourselves up for disappointment time and time again. Can God show us direction? Absolutely, but it's a rarity, both in scripture and now.

"Apart from the Spirit working through Scripture, God does not promise to use any other means to guide us, nor should we expect him to." (p. 68)

It seems to (once again) boil down to semantics. The English language lacks the proper capabilities to articulate clearly***. For example, our word hot may mean many different things, from spicy to scalding to sexy to trendy and on and on. One word for multiple meanings. That's why I try to use picante if I mean spicy; caliente for high temperatures; etc. Likewise, we shouldn't group God's Will into one phrase.

This is key to understanding the book.

DeYoung also posits that cultural differences between our time and a century ago is responsible for a lot of our indecision, especially with the privileged, instantaneous society we now find ourselves in. Most of us are spoiled and rich (in 1999, 3 billion people lived on less than $2 per day [source]) and impatient and the list goes on. These factors (especially growing up in America) certainly affect our outlook on life, as well as our parents and their parents, too. As such, we've been raised to think a certain way--that our each and every choice and action is extremely important. Look at "Choose Your Own Adventure" books or karma based video games like Fallout. They pander to the fact that every choice matters. No wonder we're so indecisive.

The answer to the dilemma, as DeYoung would have us think, is to basically love God with our whole hearts, bodies, minds, and souls, and everything else will be in God's will. With everything we do, we should to it to glorify God. As I post this review, it should be for God's glory. As I chew on the black liquorice jelly bean I just ate, I should glorify God. For without Him, there would be nothing, and He alone is worthy to be praised.

"Live for God. Obey the Scriptures. Think of others before yourself. Be holy. Love Jesus. And as you do these things, do whatever else you like, with whomever you like, wherever you like, and you'll be walking in the will of God." (p.122)

"Study the Scriptures, listen to others, and pray continually--that's the best course of action." (p.98)

It should also be noted that Just Do Something is a funny book. DeYoung writes with communicable language, which is perfect for this type of book. It's not too deep and eloquently written (a la CS Lewis), but it's friendly and conversational. There were stories that literally had me laughing aloud.

In the end, Just Do Something was a powerful book. It has literally changed my views on how I see God's will working in my life, and how I work into God's will. My copy is heavily noted and written in (don't you just love books like that?), and I'm currently reading it aloud to Keisha. If you suffer from anxiety, indecision, and general fear from being out of God's will, then I highly recommend Just Do Something. Heck, even if you don't (which, coincidentally, I didn't/don't), the book is still worth the read. Whatever the case, I would love for everyone to read this book (and take to heart its message) so they can live life liberated. Jesus didn't die for us to tie ourselves up in bondage and serve tradition and fear; He died for our freedom and so that we can have life in Him.^

"...,the will of God for your life is pretty straightforward: Be holy like Jesus, by the power of the Spirit, for the glory of God." (p. 62)

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*My wife didn't particularly care for the non-romantic view on marriage. DeYoung doesn't believe in "soul mates" and that stuff. I don't know whether I do or not, but I do believe that Keisha is my soul mate, if that makes sense. She is who I am supposed to be with and I love her more than she knows.

**DeYoung doesn't get into this issue very much, and neither will I. In short, God didn't create robots, but independent creatures gifted with free will. He holds us responsible for our "ethical" choices. Everything else we do, we do for the glory of God.

***I started an outline and an essay a few months back on my problem(s) with language, in particular English language. Perhaps I'll have to revisit this again...

^This was a difficult review to write, and I feel like I either a) rambled, b) left out a lot, or c) both a & b. I easily could have kept going, but in an effort to not reveal too much, I chose to only approach certain topics of DeYoung's book. There are only 10 chapters across 128 pages or so, so there's not that much quantity-wise in it, but enough quality that there's plenty more to think about. ...more